Global Markets Today While US Slept - Asia Mixed, Europe Markets Advance, While Dollar Gains And Gold Near Record High

On Wednesday, July 17th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell sharply as microchip stocks plunged 6.8% due to potential U.S. trade restrictions on China, marking the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index’s biggest drop since March 2020.

Economic data showed that U.S. industrial production rose 0.6% in June, beating the 0.3% forecast. Housing starts increased 3% to 1.314 million, and building permits climbed 3.4% to 1.446 million annually.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, technology and communication services experienced the largest percentage declines, while consumer staples emerged as the leading gainer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.59% and closed at 41,198.08. The S&P 500 declined 1.39%, ending the day at 5,588.27, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.76%, finishing the session at 17,997.81.

Asian Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed lower by 2.51%, ending the session at 40,121.50, led by losses in the Transportation Equipment, Pharmaceutical Industry, and Rubber sectors.
• In June, Japan’s exports rose 5.4% year-on-year, missing the expected 6.4%, while imports increased 3.2%, below the 9.3% forecast. A weaker yen helped, but demand was low. Japan’s trade balance shifted to a 224 billion yen surplus from a 1.22 trillion yen deficit in May.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.27%, ending the day at 8,036.50, led by losses in the IT, Telecoms Services, and A-REITs sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.76% to 24,800.85, and Nifty 500 rose 0.02%, closing at 23,210.05.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.48%, ending the session at 2,977.13, and the Shenzhen CSI rose 0.55%, closing at 3,520.93.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session higher by 0.22% at 17,778.41.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.17%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.14%.
• France’s CAC was up 0.58%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.71%.
• Mixed earnings reports and slower British wage growth influenced market sentiment, while Frasers surged on strong profits, boosting the retail sector.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.05% at $81.40/bbl, and Brent was down 0.08% at $85.01 bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.29% to $2.040.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.28% at $2,467.10, Silver rose 1.10% to $30.710, and Copper slid 1.29% to $4.3522.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.12%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.29%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.09% to 103.84, USD/JPY was up 0.16% at 156.40, and USD/AUD declined 0.12% to 1.4843.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock